Chapter 5 - The Trap is Set
The next morning, the atmosphere at the city’s central police precinct was electric with anticipation. Reporters lined the streets, their cameras flashed every time a sleek black vehicle pulled up to the curb. Victoria arrived surrounded by a wall of five security guards, her expression entirely unreadable behind dark sunglasses. Behind her, hidden from the main cameras, her security team brought Lily and Martha through a secure basement entrance. Julian's high-priced defense attorney, a ruthless man named Marcus Vance (no relation), was already waiting in the hallway. "Miss Vance, surely we can settle this matter quietly without destroying multiple reputations," Marcus said, blocking her path. "My client is willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement and leave the country permanently if you drop the criminal charges." Victoria stopped, slowly removing her sunglasses to look the attorney dead in the eye with utter contempt. "Your client threatened the life of a seven-year-old child last night," she said, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. Marcus blinked, genuinely surprised by the revelation, indicating that Julian had acted without his attorney's knowledge.
"I don't negotiate with criminals, and I certainly don't negotiate with amateurs," Victoria added, walking past him into the interrogation room. Inside, behind a one-way mirror, Julian was sitting at a table, looking disheveled, his expensive wedding suit now wrinkled and stained. He was pacing like a caged animal, muttering to himself, completely unaware that his world was about to collapse entirely. Victoria sat down with the lead detective, a no-nonsense woman named Detective Ramirez, who was holding the cracked camera. "We managed to extract the original metadata from the camera's memory card," Ramirez said, turning a laptop toward Victoria.
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"The file contains a digital footprint that proves it was recorded exactly at 3:14 PM on the day of the wedding," Ramirez explained. "Furthermore, we intercepted the phone tower data from the threat you received last night; the signal originated from a burner phone." "Can you trace the buyer?" Victoria asked, her eyes fixed on Julian’s anxious face through the glass window. "We already did. The burner phone was purchased by an associate of Blackwood Holdings two days ago." The trap was snapping shut, and it was going to catch much bigger fish than just a unfaithful groom.
Victoria felt a sense of grim satisfaction knowing that her enemies were growing desperate enough to make sloppy mistakes. She left the interrogation room and walked to the waiting area where Lily was sitting nervously with her mother. "Are you ready to tell the truth to the nice detective, Lily?" Victoria asked, kneeling down to eye level with the girl. Lily nodded bravely, clutching a small teddy bear that Victoria had bought for her the previous afternoon. "I'm not scared anymore, Victoria. Because I know you are standing right outside the door," the little girl said softly.
